UCC Document Community

This is incredibly helpful - thank you everyone! I'm feeling much more confident about tackling this now. Just to make sure I have the sequence right: 1) Run UCC search to check existing liens, 2) Draft security agreement with proper grant language, collateral descriptions, after-acquired property clauses, and UCC filing authorization, 3) Get security agreement executed, 4) File UCC-1 with consistent debtor name and collateral description. And I'll definitely verify the client's exact legal name through the Secretary of State database. For a $150k loan, I want to get every detail right. Thanks again for all the practical advice!

Great thread! As someone new to UCC filings, I'm curious about one aspect that hasn't been covered much - insurance requirements in the security agreement. Should the security agreement require the debtor to maintain insurance on the collateral, and if so, does that affect anything on the UCC-1 side? With equipment and inventory worth $150k, I imagine the lender would want protection if something happens to the collateral. Also, does the lender need to be named as loss payee or additional insured?

Bottom line - 5 years from original filing date, 6-month window to file continuation, $25 fee, make sure names match exactly. Georgia doesn't have any weird quirks compared to other states, just the usual UCC-3 continuation process. Set reminders early and don't procrastinate!

One additional tip - if you're managing multiple UCC filings like Vincent mentioned, consider setting up a tracking system now rather than scrambling later. I use a simple spreadsheet with columns for filing number, original filing date, debtor name, continuation window start date, continuation due date, and status. Update it whenever you file a continuation with the new 5-year cycle. Makes it much easier to stay on top of everything and avoid any nasty surprises when your lender comes asking about compliance.

Bottom line: mortgages secure real estate under real estate law. UCC security agreements secure personal property under UCC law. They can both exist in the same transaction but they're completely different legal instruments with different filing requirements. Your equipment needs UCC-1, your real estate needs mortgage recording, and if equipment becomes fixtures you need fixture filing procedures. Three different things requiring three different approaches.

This is such a helpful thread! As someone relatively new to commercial lending, I was making this way more complicated than it needed to be. I kept thinking there had to be some connection between the mortgage and UCC filings, but now I see they're just two parallel security systems that happen to be used in the same deal. The fixture filing aspect is definitely something I need to research more for my state - sounds like that's where most of the complexity lies. Thanks everyone for breaking this down so clearly!

Final thought - next time you're dealing with UCC filings, try uploading your documents to Certana.ai before filing. Their system cross-references corporate names against UCC filings and flags potential issues. Would have saved you this whole citation research project!

As a newcomer to UCC practice, this thread has been incredibly educational! I'm just starting to handle secured transactions work and the citation formatting was something I wasn't sure about. The discussion about 'Corp.' vs 'Corporation' issues is particularly relevant since I have a similar situation brewing with a client. It's reassuring to see that these abbreviation discrepancies usually don't invalidate filings under the 'seriously misleading' standard. Thanks to everyone for the detailed guidance on both the Bluebook format and the substantive law - this is exactly the kind of practical advice that law school doesn't always cover!

Just went through this exact same nightmare last week! Turns out I was making the search too complicated. Started with the most basic version of each company name and worked my way up to the full legal name. Found several filings I had missed with the detailed searches.

I've run into this exact issue with Texas UCC searches! One thing that really helped me was using wildcard searches when the system allows it. Also, double-check that you're not accidentally searching in the wrong date range - the Texas portal defaults to a pretty narrow window sometimes. Another trick is to search by the first few letters of the entity name with asterisks, which can catch variations in how the entity type is abbreviated (LLC vs L.L.C. vs Limited Liability Company, etc.). If you're still having trouble, consider reaching out to a local Texas attorney who does a lot of UCC work - they often have tricks for navigating the state's quirky search interface that aren't obvious to occasional users.